It is a sad story, but to see how the people around this has stepped up to make Lane Goodwin and his family feel like they aren’t alone in their battle is truly amazing.

Kentucky freshman Nerlens Noel has really gotten involved with the Lane Goodwin family and after reading this story I am sure you will want to be a part of it as well.

This story started when Nerlens Noel saw all the thumbs up pictures on twitter and googled it to see what it was all about. He was touched by the story and wanted to help Lane and try to do something special for him so he contacted the family via twitter @TeamLaneGoodwin.

He got in contact with Lane’s mom, Angie Goodwin, and set up a time to FaceTime (video chat) Lane to talk to him and let him know he was proud of him and invite him and his family down to Big Blue Madness.

During their FaceTime Nerlens also introduced him to 15 year old Reese Kemp, who is terminally ill with Cystic Fibrosis. Reese was first befriended by John Wall in his days at UK then Terrence Jones and now Nerlens has taken him under his wing to help him always stay positive and enjoy life.

When Nerlens followed up with the Goodwin family this past week to see if Lane and his family were going to be able to make it to Madness, he found out that Lane was too sick and in need of around the clock medical supervision and wouldn’t be able to make it to Lexington.

Nerlens knew that Lane’s younger brother, Landen, had been having a hard time dealing with the situation and the fact he is about to lose his older brother. Nerlens made sure to let him know that he was still invited even though his brother couldn’t come and provide an opportunity to help him get out of the house and have a fun experience to help get his mind off his brother’s situation. Nerlens went ahead and put Landen, his aunt, and uncle on his family ticket list for BBM.

Pictured in Limo from left: Reece, Vincent, and Landen.

Since Nerlens knew he would be busy when Landen and family got to town, he asked his friend Vincent Swope and Reese Kemp to meet the Goodwins and show them around when they got to Lexington.
After hearing from Nerlens that Landen and his aunt and uncle were coming down for BBM, Vincent and Reese came up with the idea of raising donations to get them a limo from the family’s home outside of Owensboro(over a 3 hr. drive) to Lexington. Also special thanks to Limo’s by Knight in Owensboro for greatly reducing the rate of their service.

Mr. Noel is setting a good example of what it means to be a role model to our youth today. A big thank you to him for helping to make a wish come true for Lane. I hope he continues to be a positive role model for all kids.